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LibhAKY 

Ot  IHE 

UNiVLKbliy  Uf  ILUNUIb 


GEOLOGY  OF  ERIE  CANAL 

SALINA  MARLYTES 

ANI>  RECENT  IMPROVEMENTS 

R)Y  DR.  M,  A.  YEEDER 

OE  LYONS,  N.  V. 


Reprint  from  Lyom  Republican 
of  Jan.  m,  1899 


The  Canal  Scandal 


The  Rehuhlican  prints  this  week,  on 
* another  page,  an  able  and  elaborate  arti- 
cle entitled  “Geology  of  Erie  Canal”  writ- 
ten at  the  request  of  this  paper,  by  Dr.  M. 
A.  Veeder,  whose  repu  ation  as  an  expert, 
especially  in  the  field  of  medicine  and  geol 
ogy,  is  world  wide.  Dr.  Veeder  in  his 
article  points  out  with  incisive  logic  the 
fact  that  the  so  called  canal  scandal  is 
> largely  based  upon  geological  ignorance 
and  he  indicates  in  unmistakable  Ian 
guage  that  in  all  probability  a large  part 
of  the  money  claimed  to  have  been  squan- 
dered in  improving  the  canal  was  honest- 
ly and  necessarily  spent  to  remove  obsta- 
cles familiar  only  to  the  expert  geologist. 
It  is  quite  likely  that  the  Canal  Investi- 
gating Commission  knew  nothing  of  the 
geological  ditSculties  encountered  in  im- 
proving the  canal,  which  are  so  brilliant- 
ly set  forth  in  Dr.  Veeder’s  article,  and  if 
this  should  turn  out  to  be  the  case  then 
|j  the  findings  of  that  commission  must  be 
■ pronounced  not  only  valueless  but  almost 
t criminal  in  their  reflections  upon  the  State 
Engineer  and  the  Superintendent  of  Pub- 
lic Works. 

It  is  a well  known  fact  that  when  the 
' West  Shor(!  railroad  was  being  construct- 
ed  in  the  vicinity  of  Lyons  that  the  con- 


tractors encountered  this  same  Saliua 
Marly tes  an  l that  their  engineers  classi- 
fied it  as  ordinary  material,  believing  it 
to  be  such.  It  was  so  difficult  to  exca- 
vate, however,  that  the  contractors  noti- 
fied the  railroad  company  that  if  it  did 
not  re-classify  it,  and  pay  a proper  price 
for  its  excavation,  they  would  give  up 
the  contract  The  railroad  company, 
after  an  examination  of  the  substance, 
recognized  the  justice  of  the  contractors’ 
claim  and  re  classified  the  material  upon 
its  merits,  thus  allowing  a much  higher 
price  than  was  originally  agreed  upon. 

We  believe  that  Dr.  Veeder  has  dis- 
covered the  rock  upon  which  rests  the 
whole  canal  scandal,  and  that  when  this 
rock  of  ignorance  is  removetl  by  the  light 
of  a scientific  investigation  it  will  be 
found  that  the  people’s  money  has  not 
been  so  wantonly  wasted  as  has  been 
claimed,  and  that  Superintendent  Ald- 
ridge will  then  stand  before  the  public  in 
a much  better  light. 

Dr.  Veeder’s  article  should  be  read  by 
every  intelligent  citizen  who  desires  to 
know  the  truth  upon  this  subject,  as  it  is 
written  from  a purely  scientific  point  of 
view  and  it  has  as  much  reference  to  the 
future  as  to  the  past.  If  the  canal  con- 
tracts were  to  be  let  to  morrow  the  ques 
tions  raised  by  him  could  not  be  avoided. 


— Fro7ii  The  Lyons  Republican,  Jamtary  6,  1899. 


GEOLOGY  OF  ERIE  CANAL 


SALINA  MARLYTES  AND  RECENT  IMPROVEMENTS. 

HUNDRDEDS  OF  THOUSANDS  OF  DOLLARS 
INVOLVED 


BY  M.  A.  VEEDER,  M.  D. 

LYONS,  N.  Y. 


The  mode  of  formation  of  the  basin  of 
the  Great  Lakes  has  an  important  bearing 
upon  proper  understanding  of  the  prob 
lem  of  the  Erie  canal  in  all  its  details 
The  agencies  concerned  in  determining 
the  topographical  features  involved,  have 
no  counterpart  elsewhere  in  the  world,  at 
least  not  on  any  such  scale  of  magnitude. 
Their  very  exceptional  character  has 
caused  them  to  be  misunderstood,  and 
consequently  their  discussion  needs  to  be 
very  comprehensive. 

Fortunately  the  successive  steps  by 
which  the  North  American  continent  was 
built  up,  and  its  lakes  and  waterways  ex- 
cavated, are  exhi  bited  most  magnificently 
in  the  geological  formations  in  the  vicini- 
ty of  these  lakes.  The  surroundings  of 
this  locality  were  such  that  the  successive 
layers  of  material  deposited  about  the 
growing  continent  were  of  conspicuous 
character,  and  have  been  well  preserved 
with  all  their  markings  until  the  present 


time.  Thus  within  the  borders  of  the 
State  of  New  York  alone  there  is,  as  it 
were,  an  epitome  of  geological  history  so 
complete  that  it  has  become  the  standard 
for  comparison  throughout  the  world. 

The  location  of  the  Great  Lakes,  with 
their  associated  drainage  system  and 
waterways,  is  determined  primarily  by 
the  nature  of  underlying  rock  formations. 
The  continent  grew  about  the  Adirondack 
region,  as  a nucleus,  the  strata  in  general 
sloping  gently  away  from  that  center,  as 
beaches  slope  from  an  island  in  tfie  sea. 
Subsequently  the  land  surface  thus  ex- 
posed was  cut  across  by  drainage  chan- 
nels, and  finally  was  sculptured  into  its 
present  shape  i<y  processes  of  weathering 
and  erosion,  the  softer  rock  yielding  first, 
and  thus  determining  the  situation  of  de- 
pressions and  cbani-.els  lo  be  occupied  by 
streams  and  lakes  and  as  highways  of 
commerce. 

Especially  important  in  the  case  of  the 


C.KOLOOY  OF  ERIE  CANAL 


3 


Great  Lakes  thus  formed,  is  the  evidence 
of  ice  actio'i  on  an  enormous  .scale  in  their 
vicinity.  There  mtist  have  been  a time 
when  the  clima  e of  this  part  of  the  earth 
was  cold»u'  than  at  present.  The  imme- 
diate effect  of  such  increase  of  cold  would 
be  to  block  the  outlets  of  these  lakes  with 
heavy  ice  at  certain  seasons,  and  perhaps 
continuously  for  years  in  succession,  caus- 
ing the  water  to  overspread  the  land  ad- 
jacent. The  soil  thus  reduced  to  the  eon- 
diiiou  of  plastic  mud  would  be  in  a condi- 
tion to  be  readily  torn  up,  and  ridged,  and 
furrowed  by  ice  tields  driven  upon  it  by 
wind  and  curient,  and  the  rise  of  the 
waters.  If  an  obstructi>  n of  this  sort  at 
the  outlet  of  one  of  the  upper  lakes,  as 
tor  example  that  of  Lake  Superior,  should 
give  way  suddenly,  thousands  of  square 
miles  of  ice  fields,  borne  along  in  a huge 
flood,  would  be  precipitated  at  once  into 
the  basins  of  the  lower  lakes  with  tremen- 
dous effect.  The  hydraulic  pressures  and 
eneigy  of  movement  developed  under  such 
conditions,  would  be  fully  adequate  to 
Hci-ount  for  the  ice  and  water  markings  at 
different  levels  in  the  lake  region,  that 
have  heretofore  been  ascribed  to  ordinary 
glacial  action,  or  to  changes  of  level  of 
the  geological  strata  themselves,  instead 
of  that  of  the  waters.  These  effects  of  ice 
accumulation  in  the  waters  of  the  lakes 
would  be  intensified  and  extended  by  the 
coincident  increase  of  snowfall  on  the 
lai  d adjacent  that  would  ensue.  In  the 
very  nature  of  the  case  this  sort  of  com- 
bined ice  and  water  action  must  have  oc 
curred  in  this  region  as  nowhere  else  in 
the  wmrld.  The  basin  of  these  lakes  be- 
ing of  immense  size,  and  their  outlets 
narrow,  and  their  waters  fresh  and  easily 


frozen,  and  their  latitude  such  that  in 
crease  of  cold  might  readily  occur,  the 
conditions  are  perfect  for  such  action,  and 
as  a matter  of  fact  evidences  of  it  appear 
everywdiere  in  the  area  in  question,  and 
in  the  valleys  that  would  become  accessi- 
ble through  ice  accumulation  and  rise  of 
the  waters. 

From  the  point  of  view  that  has  been 
indicated  the  peculiarities  of  the  drainage 
system,  and  waterways  of  New  York 
State,  become  clearly  explicable.  South- 
ward from  Lake  Ontario  there  is  a suc- 
cession of  terraces  of  rock  rising  step  by 
step,  as  low  cliffs  or  ledges,  extending 
east  and  west  across  the  State.  The  loose 
debris  on  the  surface  exhibits  forms  of 
arrangement  that  would  result  from  the 
thrust  of  floating  i e tields  finding  their 
way  through  valleys,  or  piopelled  against 
shore  lines  by  prevailing  winds.  But  the 
underlying  resistant  rock  remaining  in 
firm  ledges  is  channelled  along  the  lines 
where  the  material  was  softer,  or  in  a 
direction  parallel  to  Lake  Ontario,  which 
was  excavated  in  like  manner.  Thus  the 
outlets  of  Jayugaand  Seneca  Lakes,  wuich 
originally  ran  northward,  now  run  east 
ward  because  of  the  removal  of  a stratum 
of  softer  materijd  by  ice  action  in  the 
manner  described.  Thus,  likewise,  the 
Erie  canal  was  made  possible,  the  channel 
which  it  occupies  being  a topographical 
feature  so  conspicuous  that  it  was  noted 
by  the  Indians,  the  five  nations  living  in 
its  vicinity  being  known  as  the  Iroquois, 
which  signifies  the  “House  of  the  Long 
Hall,”  referring  to  this  natural  avenue 
between  the  seaboard  and  lake  region. 

From  the  head  waters  of  the  Mohawk 
eastward  the  location  of  the  channel  oc- 


4 


GEOLOGY  OP  ERIE  CANaL 


ciipied  by  the  canal  depends  vt-ry  largely 
upon  the  physical  peculiarities  of  the 
slates  of  the  Utica  and  Hudson  river 
groups.  These  consist  of  mateiial  that 
disintegrates  into  particles  so  small  as 
to  be  reidily  suspended  in  water,  giv- 
ing it  a very  persistent  milky  appearance. 
The  erosion  of  rocks  of  this  formation  is 
very  rapid  in  water  though  not  in  air, 
they  being  reduced  to  an  impalpable  pow- 
der and  thus  floated  away  and  deposited 
elsewhere  in  the  form  of  fine  clays  such 
as  are  so  abundant  in  the  Mohawk  and 
Hudson  valleys.  It  was  the  presence  of 
an  abundance  of  material  of  this  variety, 
of  different  geological  epochs,  togetlier 
with  a large  flow  of  water,  that  brought 
about  the  excavation  of  Lakes  Erie  and 
Ontario.  With  a smaller  flow  of  water, 
and  consequently  on  a smaller  scale,  8eh 
eca  and  Cayuga  Lakes  were  eroded  in  like 
manner  in  material  of  this  same  species. 
As  it  exists  in  the  Mohawk  and  Hudson 
valleys  this  material  does  not  present  any 
serious  difliculties  of  classification  from 
an  engineering  point  of  view. 

From  the  head  waters  of  the  Mohawk 
westward  for  a hundred  miles,  or  more, 
the  case  is  different.  The  location  of  this 
portion  of  the  canal  is  determined  by  the 
red  and  blue  shales  of  the  Saliua  Period, 
a formation  having  peculiarities  probably 
not  encountered  in  engineering  work  on 
any  such  scale  in  the  whole  world.  The 
material  looks  like  red  and  blue  clay  of 
modern  origin,  but  is  nothing  of  the  sort. 
It  belongs  to  a very  ancient  period  of 
geological  history,  and  was  compacted 
through  long  ages  under  superimposed 
strata  that  have  since  been  swept  away 
by  ice  and  lake  action,  leaving  the  por- 


tions traversed  by  the  canal  nearly  bare. 
The  undisturbed  layers  thus  compressed 
are  much  harder  tlian  any  clay,  although 
broken  fragments  lying  loose  on  the  sur- 
face disintegrate  readily.  Unlike  clay,  it 
contains  much  lime,  and  hence  is  techni- 
cally known  as  marlyte.  The  presence 
of  this  lime  gives  it  much  firmer  consist 
ency  when  compacted  in  ledges,  and  on 
the  other  hand  causes  it  to  slack  and  dis- 
integrate more  readily  in  detached  frag- 
ments. 'Phe  peculiar  nature  of  this  for- 
mation is  still  further  shown  by  the  fact 
that  it  is  every  where  associated  with  the 
presence  of  salt,  the  chief  brine  wells  and 
salt  deposits  in  the  United  States,  having 
commercial  value,  being  located  in  it. 
Cert  dll  layers  of  these  sliales  also  are  the 
chief  source  of  gypsum  and  land  plaster. 
Large  and  beautifully  transparent  crystals 
of  selenite,  a very  pure  form  of  gypsum, 
were  found  in  a cutting  made  by  the 
West  Shore  railroad  in  these  red  and  blue 
marly  tes  about  three  miles  west  of  the 
village  of  Lyoin.  From  this  it  is  appar- 
ent that  the  chemical  nature  of  these 
shales  is  very  unusual,  sulphur,  lime, 
silicate  of  alumina  and  common  salt  enter- 
ing into  their  composition  m varying  de- 
grees. It  would  appear  that  volcanic 
action  must  have  been  concerned  to 
some  extent  in  bringing  about  such  a 
mixture  containing  su'phur  Indeed, 
near  Syracuse,  where  this  ♦ormation 
reaches  its  largest  and  most  typical  de- 
velopment, the  Green  Lakes  at  Manlius 
and  Jamesville  appear  to  be  the  reniuauts 
of  true  craters,  like  the  Green  lakes  of 
Madagascar,  which  are  plainly  associated 
with  evidences  of  volcanic  action.  Other 
ndications  of  igneous  action  have  been 


GEOLOGY  OP  ERTE  CANAL 


5 


found  in  the  rock  at  DeWitt,  east  of  Syra 
case,  recently.  The  ou'iiow  of  natural 
gas  in  the  region  immediately  southeast 
of  Lake  Ontario  appears  to  be  associated 
with  these  deep  seated  activities  of  a vol 
cauic  nature.  From  all  this  it  is  evident 
that  the  canal  traversing  these  formations 
meets  with  a set  of  conditions  of  very  ex- 
ceptional character,  and  that  are  of  great 
importance  from  an  engineering  point  of 
view. 

The  Salina  marlytes  and  shales,  the  line 
of  whose  outcrop  the  canal  follows,  very 
nearly  from  Rome  to  Rochester,  are  flanked 
on  the  north  and  south  by  ledges  of  very 
solid  and  durable  limestone,  known  as  the 
Niagara,  and  Comiferous,  respectively. 
The  weathering  and  erosion  of  this  softer 
material  interposed  between  these  lines  of 
very  hard  roca,  has  changed  the  entire 
drainage  system  of  this  part  of  Western 
New  York,  thus  putting  the  canal  in  the 
precise  position  it  occupies.  The  streams 
instead  of  flowing  directly  north  into 
Lake  Ontario,  as  the  outlets  of  Seneca 
and  Cayuga  Lakes  once  did  at  Sodus  Bay, 
now  turn  eastward,  and  make  a long  de- 
tour before  reaching  the  lake  at  Oswego. 
This  trough-like  depression  excavated  in 
rock  determines  the  direction  of  drainage, 
although  it  contains  much  superficial  de 
bris  which  has  been  erected  into  curious 
parallel  hills  that  are  thickly  set  over 
many  hundreds  of  square  miles,  especially 
in  Wayne  and  Cayuga  counties  This 
material,  of  which  these  hills  are  com- 
posed, is  derived  almost  exclusively  from 
the  Salina  shales  and  marlytes,  to  whose 
outcrop  they  are  very  strictly  confined. 
These  hills  look  like  mud,  contaiidng 
many  scratched  and  polished  stones  and 


boulders,  compacted  into  a very  tough 
and  refractory  hardpan,  by  ice  and  lake 
action  of  the  type  that  has  been  indicated. 
It  is  troublesome  material  to  excavate, 
but  not  so  bad  as  the  undisturbed  marlyte 
ledges  from  which  it  is  derived. 

These  ledges  superficially  give  but  little 
indication  of  their  true  character,  and 
might  very  readily  be  mistaken  for  clay 
banks,  or  banks  of  the  hardpan  just  men- 
tioned. When  rounded  off  by  the  wash 
of  rains  they  may  even  look  like  piles  of 
ordinaiy  earth.  On  opening  up  their  in 
terior,  however,  it  is  found  that  there  is 
no  tendency  to  crumble,  or  scale  off,  nor 
are  there  any  seams,  or  joints  of  cleavage, 
the  entire  mass  being  cohesive,  like  dried 
putty,  but  of  much  firmer  consistency. 
Blasting,  or  wedging,  makes  but  little 
impression,  there  being  no  seams  to  open 
up,  and  the  disintegration  by  the  jarring 
of  the  explosion,  or  wedging,  extends  but 
two  or  three  inches  as  a rule.  Even  the 
narrowest  form  of  plough  is  very  ineffec- 
tive in  tearing  up  this  sort  of  material. 

There  are  many  indications  that  the  ex- 
ceptional character  of  this  part  of  the 
Salina  formation  is  not  duly  appreciated. 
For  example  the  Garbage  Disposal  Works 
for  the  city  of  Rochester  were  placed  upon 
it  at  Macedon,  creating  a nuisance,  largely 
because  of  its  imperviousness,  compelling 
their  abandonment  at  a loss  of  many  thou- 
sands of  dollais.  There  is  a similar  pro- 
position in  regard  to  the  location  of  a 
sewage  farm  at  Lyons  that  will  surely 
result  in  failure,  unless  the  nature  and 
location  of  this  material  is  taken  into  the 
account. 

Especially  in  connection  with  the  re- 
cent nine  million  canal  improvement  in 


(5 


GEOI.GGY  OF  ERIE  CANAL 


the  anoiimlous  character  of  this  material 
broiiglit  out  most  clearly.  There  was  re- 
classilication  and  re-rating  during  the 
progress  of  the  v.^ork  to  the  extent  of 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars,  the 
natural  consequence  being  much  newspa- 
pc;r  discussion,  and  legislative  inquiry. 
Experts,  apparently  on  very  cursory  ex- 
amination, and  without  a full  understand- 
ing of  the  points  involved,  have  differed 
greatly  in  their  estimates  as  to  the  nature 
of  the  materiiil,  and  the  expense  of  exca- 
vation. The  railroad  companies  have  had 
this  same  difficulty  in  classifying  and 
rating  the  prices  for  excavation  of  this 
material,  contractors  threatening  to  aban 
don  their  contracts  when  they  became 
aware  of  its  true  nature. 

In  vi(  w of  these  disagreements,  and  of 
the  popular  misapprehensions  arising, 
and  because  it  is  a question  that  con- 
cerns the  future  of  the  canal,  as  well  as 
its  past  history,  the  writer,  some  weeks 
since,  addressed  the  following  letter  to 
State  Engineer  Adams; 

“In  the  discussions  in  regard  to  the 
canal  question  there  is  a point  that  ought 
to  have  been  made  more  clear  to  the  pop- 
ular understanding,  and  that  it  is  certain 
would  have  saved  a gieat  deal  of  difficulty 
all  around.  It  is  in  reference  to  the  rela 
tiou  which  the  canal  holds  to  the  outcrop 
of  the  shales  of  the  Salina  Period,  techni- 
cally known  as  maiiytes  This  is  a very 
ancient  formation  having  peculiarities 
possessed  by  no  other,  except  it  be  small 
portions  of  the  strata  of  the  Clinton.  Su- 
perficially the  red  and  blue  shales  of  this 
period  look  like  rather  soft  cla>,  and  in 
broken  fragments  readily  disintegrate  in 
air  or  water,  but  they  are  unt  clay,  and 


for  the  most  part  consist  of  material  that 
is  as  difficult  or  more  difficult  of  excava- 
li'in  than  hard  rock.  Containing  lime 
mixed  with  silicate  of  alumina,  and  other 
ingredients,  their  composition  is  such  that 
they  cannot  be  blasted  successfully,  nor 
can  they  be  torn  up  by  any  ordinary 
plough.  In  the  text  booics  on  Geology 
they  are  classified  as  rock,  and  should 
have  been  classified  as  rock  iu  the  specifi- 
cations for  the  contracts.  But  they  look 
so  very  different  f.om  any  ordinary  spe- 
cies of  rock  that  there  might  very  well  be 
room  for  honest  differences  of  opinion,  and 
putting  them  in,  as  was  done  at  the  t)utset, 
as  earth  was  taking  the  safe  side  so  far  as 
protecting  the  interests  of  the  State  was 
concerned.  As  the  matter  stands  it  seems 
as  though  the  peculiarities  of  these  shales 
ought  to  be  made  better  known,  not  only 
as  explaining  the  difficulties  that  have 
arisen  but  likewise  those  that  are  likely 
to  arise  hereafter.” 

Mr.  Adams,  reply  was  as  follows: 

"I  have  read  your  letter  of  Dec.  9th  with 
very  great  satisfaction.  Professor  Clarke, 
acting  State  Geologist,  sustains  your  posi- 
tion in  conversation  with  me.  The  ideas 
you  express  are  in  exact  accordance  with 
what  we  observed  during  the  prosecution 
of  the  canal  work  The  appearance  of 
the  material  before  being  excavated,  and 
its  consistency,  or  condition,  upon  expos- 
ure, in  many  instances  were  markedly 
different,  so  that  an  inspection  a few 
months,  or  a year  after  the  examination 
had  taken  place,  did  not  reveal  the  origi- 
nal condition  by  any  means. 

“I  am  glad  that  you  perceived  that  our 
Engineers,  acting  under  direction,  took  the 
safe  side  in  reporting  for  estimate  the  ma- 


r,FA)L()GY  OP  KIITK  CANAL 


terial  excavated  as  earth,  which  was  the 
lowest  priced  material,  until  their  superi- 
ors' could  properly  classify  it.  We  acted 
thus  as  we  believed  at  that  time,  and  as 
we  believe  this  minute,  for  the  best  inter 
est  of  the  State.” 

The  following  letter,  upon  the  subject 
of  the  Salina  marlytes,  lu  s also  beeu  re 
ceived  by  the  writer  from  the  Resident 
E igitieer  of  tlie  Western  Division,  C.  R. 
Neher  of  Rochester-  , 

“At  the  requi  st  of  the  State  Engineer, 
I ta<e  pleasure  in  giving  you  such  facts 
relative  to  the  shales  met  with  in  the 
canal  improvement,  as  came  within  the 
scope  of  my  observation,  treating  them 
strictly  from  the  standpoint  of  their  rela 
tively  higher  cost  to  excavate  than  earth. 

“The  records  on  file  in  this  office,  of  the 
canal  enlargement  for  the  years  1857  and 
18')8,  indicate  that  the  Engineers  recog 
nized  the  shale  as  being  more  difficult  to 
excavate  than  ordinary  earth,  and  classi- 
fied it  under  the  head  of  rock  of  two  dif- 
ferent grades. 

‘1st — ‘Quarried  Rock,’  ‘material  which, 
in  the  opinion  of  the  Itesident  Engineer, 
can  be  excavated  without  blasting.’  2d — 
‘Soiid  Rock.’  ‘material  which,  in  the  opin- 
ion of  the  Resident  Engineer,  cannot  be 
excavated  without  blasting.’ 

“By  comparing  the  locations  where 
these  classifications  prevailed,  it  is  shown 
that  it  incluvicd  these  shales,  as  localities 
are  included  in  the  estimates  where  no 
true  ledge  rock  existed,  and  there  was 
large  quantities  of  shale.  The  relative 
prices  paid  for  shale  classified  as  ‘Rock’ 
was  on  an  average  as  follows;  ‘Quarried 
Rock’  double  the  price  paid  for  ‘Earth 
Excavation,’ and . for  ‘Solid  Rock’  from 


three  to  four  times  the  pi  ice  paid  for  earth 
excavation.  I am  of  the  opinion  that 
these  relative  prices  truly  represent  the 
comparative  erst  of  excavating. 

“The  specificati  >ns  for  the  ‘Nine  IVlil- 
lion  Improvement’  made  no  specific  pro- 
vision for  classifying  shales,  only  as  in- 
cluded under  the  general  head  of  ‘Rock,’ 
as  ‘All  solid  or  ledge  rock  and  hard  pan 
which,  in  the  o[)inion  of  the  Resident 
Engineer,  cannot  be  plowed.’  This  neces- 
sarily excluded  large  amounts  of  the  shales 
from  a Rock  classification,  the  partially 
disintegrated  shales  being  classed  as 
‘Earth,’  although  costing  relatively  more 
than  true  earth.  From  a large  collection 
of  data  in  my  possession  I obtain  the  fol- 
lowing average  yardage  excavated  per 
day  per  man; 

“Shales  that  cannot  be  ploughed  3 74 
cubic  yards.  True  ledge  rock,  as  Medina 
sandstone,  3 53  cubic  yards  This  yard- 
age per  day  per  man  does  not  include  all 
the  expense  of  excavating,  as  there  was 
added  to  the  expense  for  laborers  the  cost 
of  explosives,  and  McMyler  derricks  cost- 
ing to  operate  $24.50  per  day  for  a gang 
of  40  men,  these  averages  being  used  to 
demonstrate  simply  that  thi  cost  of  ex- 
cavating shales  is  relatively  the  same,  as 
for  rock,  as  the  comparisons  were  always 
made  witli  the  same  gangs  of  men  and  the 
same  plant  operating  separately  in  shale 
and  rock. 

“In  general,  better  results  were  obtain- 
ed by  explosive  in  ledge  rock  than  in 
shales,  the  ledge  rock  opening  along  the 
dividing  line  of  the  strata  and  leaving  a 
level  bottom,  while  the  shales  blew  out  in 
pockets,  leaving  ridges  above  grade  be- 
tween the  shots  which  had  to  be  worked 


H 


GKOLOGY  OP  ERIE  CANAL 


(Iowa  witli  picks,  a tcdioin  and  expensive 
process.  The  distance  holes  had  to  be 
drilled  below  grade  to  give  best  results, 
and  was  about  the  same  in  rock  as  shale 
and  averaged  one  foot. 

“The  rapidity  of  the  disintegration  of 
these  shales  when  exposed  was  a notable 
characteristic,  being  very  noticeable  in  24 
hours,  and  in  some  cases,  where  it  was 
taken  out  in  large  blocks  and  deposited  in 
spoil  banks  became  a pasty  mass  in  a 
couple  of  months. 

“It  is  evident  that  thire  is  a lack  of 
knowledge  as  to  the  true  nature  of  these 
shales,  as  evidenced  by  adverse  criticism 
of  the  classification  under  the  Nine  Million 
Improvement,  even  Eugiueers  having 
testified  before  the  Canal  Investigating 
Commission  that  in  their  opinion,  based 


on  viewing  spoil  banks,  that  the  material 
classified  as  ‘Rock’  was  improperly  classi- 
fied. 

“I  take  pleasure  in  furnishing  you  this 
data,  if  it  will  tend  to  give  tardy  justice 
to  those  Engineers  who,  as  servants  of  the 
State,  gave  their  best  efforts  to  deal  fairly 
and  honestly  with  the  State  and  Contrac- 
tor, and  in  so  doing  have  been  held  up  as 
violating  the  trust  imposed  upon  them.” 

So  far  as  the  present  writer  is  concerned 
the  sole  purpose  of  this  discussion,  and  of 
adducing  the  above  correspondence,  is  to 
bring  to  p.ipular  notice  the  difficulties  and 
importance  of  the  subject,  so  that  what- 
ever may  be  done  hereafter  may  be  with 
a better  knowh-dge  of  the  material  facts 
in  the  case. 

Lyons,  N.  Y.,  Jan.  6th,  1899. 


/ 


